Public and Private Road Safety and Advertising Medium

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for placing surface advertising are described. Many embodiments are computer based and are connected to a communications network. Certain embodiments receive advertising data from a client, identify available advertising locations, and place an advertisement at an available advertising location.

CROSS REFERENCED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/561,043, entitled “Public and Private Road Safety and AdvertisingMedium”, to Vines et al., filed Sep. 16, 2009, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/081,801,entitled “Public and private road safety and advertising medium” toVines, et al., filed Mar. 16, 2005, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/553,822, filed Mar. 16, 2004 and60/569,894, filed May 10, 2004 both entitled PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ROADSAFETY AND ADVERTISING MEDIUM, the disclosures of which are incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The invention generally relates to advertisements, and more particularlyrelates to surface-based advertisements.

The promotion of products, the promotion of services, and theconcomitant attempts to influence consumer behavior and purchasing formsa vast advertising industry. The advertising industry determinesmessages to convey to consumers, the form those messages take, and howthose messages are to reach an audience. Often those messages take theform, and are delivered to consumers, as advertisements.

Advertisements are ubiquitous. Advertisements may be found innewspapers, magazines, television broadcasts, web pages, billboards, onbanners towed by airplanes, and in a variety of mediums and locations.However, despite the profusion of advertisements, advertisements are notall pervasive, and opportunities to educate, inform, and influenceconsumers are lost.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method of marketing outdoor ground-surfaceadvertising for a ground-surface, comprises leasing a portion of aground-surface area of an entryway from an entity having rights in theentryway for the use of placement of advertising on such leased portionof ground-surface area; marketing and re-selling a right to use theleased portion of the ground-surface area of the entryway for theplacement of advertising artwork to an advertiser for a specified periodof time; and installing the advertising artwork at the location of theleased ground-surface area of the entryway.

In one embodiment, a system of marketing outdoor ground-surfaceadvertising for a ground-surface comprises a database and a server. Thedatabase includes a plurality of records comprising at least onelocation for placement of ground-surface advertising and property ownercriteria for the at least one location, the at least one location beinga leased entryway of a ground-surface area. The server is coupled to thedatabase and configured to receive a user criteria to query the databaseand transmit location results based on the received user criteriamatching the property owner's criteria.

Many of the attendant features of the present invention will be morereadily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by referenceto the foregoing and following description and considered in connectionwith the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols designatelike parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an advertisement located in a roadway.

FIG. 2 illustrates a road side shopping area with parking lot having anadvertisement on the parking lot surface.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an advertisement placed onthe ground.

FIG. 4 illustrates a beach side path including advertisements.

FIG. 5 illustrates a sport venue and associated parking lot includingadvertisements on the parking lot.

FIG. 6 illustrates a walkway of a venue such as a sporting stadium,arena, or hall with an advertisement on the floor.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a process in accordance with aspects of theinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a further process in accordance with aspectsof the invention.

FIG. 9 is a system diagram of one embodiment of an advertising system inaccordance with aspects of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a further process in accordance withaspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an advertisement 11 on a roadway 13. As illustrated,the roadway is a two lane roadway. Also as illustrated, theadvertisement comprises textual material placed on the roadway, althoughin some embodiments the advertisement is placed within the roadway. Thetextual material is placed in a sequential fashion along a path of theroadway. Accordingly, the advertisement is viewable by occupants of anautomobile 15 driven on the roadway, and particularly by a driver of theautomobile, whose attention is naturally focused on the roadway. Indeed,the advertisement is viewable by the driver without requiring the driverto avert his or hers eyes from the roadway. In addition, theadvertisement may be viewable by others not in vehicles, such aspedestrian 15 or those otherwise approximate the roadway.

FIG. 2 illustrates an aerial view of a commercial area. As illustratedthe commercial area is approximate a roadside 21, and may be consideredto be of the type sometimes referred to as a strip mall. As is commonwith such commercial areas, the commercial area includes a vehicleparking lot 23 accessible from the roadway. Commercial establishmentsare located along at least some of the edges of the parking lot. Thecommercial establishments, as illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a varietyof commercial establishments, such as restaurants 25,27, a coffee shop29, a dry cleaner 31, and a grocery store 33.

An advertisement 35 is placed on, or embedded within, the surface of theparking lot. In the embodiment shown the advertisement is outside aparking area 37 of the parking lot. Instead, the advertisement islocated in a driving path area 39 of the parking lot. Accordingly,occupants, and particularly drivers, of vehicles traversing the parkinglot, for example seeking an available parking space, may view theadvertisement, and the vehicle may pass over the advertisement. Theadvertisement of FIG. 2 is a public service announcement, being in theform of an encouragement to vote in an election.

Conveniently, the advertisement is positioned in relation to an entrance41 to the parking lot such that occupants of a majority of vehiclesentering the parking lot through the entrance may view theadvertisement.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a surface 51 suited forvehicular access. For descriptive purposes an automobile 53 is shown onthe surface. An advertisement 55 is positioned on the surface. As may beseen in the exploded view of the cross-section, the advertisement liesupon the surface and is substantially flush with the surface.

FIG. 4 illustrates a path 61 along a beach 63. The path is of the typesometimes referred to as a bike path, and is common in some beachlocales. A bicyclist 65 is bicycling along the path. A firstadvertisement 67 is on one portion of the path. As illustrated, thefirst advertisement is on the right hand side of the path, as viewed bythe bicyclist. The first advertisement is also positioned for viewing inproper orientation by those having a direction of travel according to adrive-on-right roadway system. As illustrated, the bicyclist istraveling on the path according to such a system of travel, and thebicyclist will encounter what could be considered a bottom of the firstadvertisement and then pass over the advertisement as the bicyclisttravels along the path.

A second advertisement 69 is on a second portion of the path. The secondadvertisement is on an opposing side of the path compared to the firstadvertisement, and, in terms of the bicyclist, the second advertisementis on the left hand side of the path. The second advertisement isoriented with respect to the path opposite to the orientation of thefirst advertisement. Thus, to the bicyclist, the second advertisementappears upside-down. To a further bicyclist having an opposite directionof travel, however, the second advertisement is properly oriented forviewing.

FIG. 5 illustrates a stadium venue including associated parking area.The stadium venue includes a stadium 71 and a parking area 73approximate the stadium. As illustrated the parking area largelysurrounds the stadium, although in various venues placement of theparking area varies with respect location of the stadium.

Advertisement material is located on the surface of the parking area.The advertisement material includes a first advertisement 73, a secondadvertisement 75, and a third advertisement 77. The advertisements arelocated on portions of the parking area not generally used for parking.The advertisements are also sized so as to be visible from airborneobservers, such as those in airplanes and blimps. More particularly, asillustrated the advertisements are sufficiently large so that theadvertisements may be discerned in an aerial view of the stadium, suchas might be transmitted by a television broadcaster.

In some embodiments advertisements are also place on areas of theparking area generally used for parking. For example, in someembodiments some or all of the parking spaces each have there ownadvertisement material placed thereon. In other embodimentsadvertisement material may cover portions of several parking spaces, oran entire subarea of a parking area.

FIG. 6 illustrates a hallway 81 including advertising material 83 on thefloor 85 of the hallway. The floor of the hallway provides a pedestrianwalkway, in this case an indoor pedestrian walkway. In other embodimentspedestrian walkways may be outdoor, and may include dual use surfacessuch bike paths. In further embodiments pedestrian walkways may bejogging trails, or jogging or running tracks. The advertising materialis a thin, non-slip surface affixed, generally temporarily, to thewalkway surface.

In some embodiments the process of FIG. 7 is used in connection with theforegoing. In block 101 a location for a billboard alternative isdetermined. The location is, in some embodiments, on a route of travel,including vehicular routes of travel. In block 103 a pricing structurefor the location is determined. The pricing structure may, for example,be based on numbers of persons or vehicles using the route of travel. Inblock 105 a client is obtained for the location. In block 107 a trafficbreak is formed at the location. The traffic break prevents traffic,such as vehicular traffic, from moving over the location. In block 109 abillboard alternative is installed at the location. In block 111 atraffic break is ended.

In some embodiments pricing for the billboard alternative at thelocation may be based on events subsequent to placement of the billboardalternative at the location. For example, pricing may be based on anumber of vehicles using the traveled route, and variations thereof toaccount for times at which the billboard alternative is not visible dueto very heavy traffic. Accordingly, in block 113 traffic over the travelroute is monitored.

In some embodiments revenue is allocated between a marketer or resellerof rights to place advertisements on the roadways and an underlyingrights holder.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an alternate process used in connection withsome of the foregoing embodiments. In block 1111 a ground location isdetermined. The ground location, for example, may be a roadway, aparking area, a walkway, or other ground surface. Generally, the groundsurface will be an outdoor ground surface. In block 1113 a right to theground location is acquired. Generally the right acquired is the rightto place an advertisement on the surface of the ground location. In someembodiments the right is in the form of a lease for a specified periodof time, which may or may not be contingent upon other circumstances. Insome embodiments the rights are acquired from an underlying rightsholder, such as city, state or other government entity having rights inthe roadway, or a private property owner having rights, whether aslessee or owner, to parking garages, convenient store parking lots, orthe like. In block 1115 pricing is determined for the placement ofadvertisements on the ground location. In block 1117 a right toadvertise at the ground location is marketed to advertisers and otherparties. In block 1119 the rights to advertise in the location are soldto, for example, an advertiser. In some embodiments, the marketing andsale of the right may take the form of marketing and contracting toplace an advertisement on the ground location for the party. In block1121 an advertisement is placed on the ground location. In block 1123,optionally, the advertisement of the ground location is maintained.Additionally, in some embodiments, revenue received from placement orlocation, or maintenance of the advertisement on the ground location isallocated or shared between an underlying rights holder in the groundlocation and a marketer of a right to advertise at the ground location.

The processes described throughout the application can be implementedvia the system shown in FIG. 9. In one embodiment, the advertisingsystem comprises one or network capable (via wireless or wired)computing devices 302 such as client computers or mobile phones thatenable one or more advertisers or users to manage and/or select theirspecific advertising campaigns. These campaigns includes locations,spaces and/or advertising spots that the ground-work advertisements willbe located and for the duration that the advertisement will remain.Along with the ability to manage and control the frequency, length,duration, time, number of locations and/or number of people that will beexposed to the advertisement, the advertiser can manage what image oradvertisement that is to be used. For example, in one embodiment, byutilizing a database 304 coupled to or incorporated into a server 301 toupload specific image or images that then can be used for a single orfor multiple ground-work advertisements. In one embodiment, the uploadedimage or images are incorporated into a non-slip thin advertisingmaterial to be affixed to the ground space to form the ground-workadvertisement.

By using a network 305, e.g., the Internet, and/or directly interfacingwith the server, the advertiser (user) can log onto or into the databaseusing their account information/user login. The user can then buildtheir campaign and tailor the number of locations, spaces and/oradvertising spots and number of different images for their campaign andwhat image or advertisement goes to what location, spaces and/oradvertising spots that they would choose. In one embodiment, the serverreceives the user criteria generated by the user building their campaignto query the database and transmit location results based on thereceived user criteria matching a location's criteria and/or a propertyowner's criteria. Furthermore, through the server and database, the userhas the ability to create an accurate quotation or proposal for whattheir campaign would cost along with creating a work order, startingdate based upon availability for the individual campaign, billing cyclefor their account receivable and their account payable to the thirdparty provider, along with automated invoicing and automated billpayment processes to the third party provider. Additionally, through theserver and database, the user can build a campaign to advertise theirimage of choice to any of our thousands of locations across one or moregeographical locations throughout the world. The user is also able toview their actual advertisement through the server and database of“proof of performance” capabilities to see each individual advertisementto verify that the advertisement has been placed at the appropriatelocation via for example a picture or video of the advertisement once ithas been placed. In one embodiment, the database includes a record thatcorresponds to the location that includes an image of the advertisingmaterial affixed to the entryway of the location that verifies theinstallation of the ground-work advertisement. As such, in oneembodiment, a user via a client computer can request the record from thedatabase through the server in which the server retrieves the record anddownloads the verification image to the client computer.

In one embodiment, the server can accesses the database to alsocalibrate all locations, durations, image sizes and remaining propertyinventory for an audit review. The server via the database alsocalculates inventory (used and unused), maintains all users, past,present and future campaigns, images used and to be used for retrievalfor use in reports, statements, accounting, commissions, accountspayable to property owners and/or sales employees territories. Thedatabase in one embodiment also houses the accounts receivables andmaintains company profiles of users.

In one embodiment, the advertisement is placed at the entryway of apedestrian or vehicle path. The entryway advertisement has the maximumability to reach every person that enters the store or pathway. Forexample, a person may not see a parking lot placement unless parked in aparticular area or traversing the parking lot of the store where theadvertisement is placed. Inside a store poses similar concerns as moststores have at least fifteen aisles reducing the likelihood that aninterested consumer might see the advertisement.

Also, traditionally entrances to high pedestrian traffic venues havebeen the place that black mats where placed without thought to capturean advertising audience. Additionally, there has been resistance to suchan entryway advertisement due to competition concerns, for example,advertising other non-related product to the property owners' focus. Toaddress such concerns in one embodiment each property owner withspecific parameters are recorded, such as only family friendly ads, orno competitive ads, or only ads for products that the property sells andso on. In one embodiment, these parameters are stored in a database inone or more records incorporated with or associated with the databaserecords for the property owner. In one embodiment, the parameters areincluded in property owner criteria that comprise at least oneidentifier representing advertising materials that correspond to a typeof business and/or product. Therefore, not only does the property ownerachieve advertisement stability but the advertiser also does not have toexpend resources to approach owners without any desire to allow suchadvertisement or allows advertisers to utilize resources to approachowners that have a desire to allow such advertisement.

In one embodiment, sound is added to the advertisements when people arenear or positioned on a particular area of the advertisement or theability to text a users phone when approaching the advertisement areprovided to direct an interested consumer to view the advertisement.Vertical props, such as kiosks, cars, and so on, can also be used todirect the attention of the interested consumer. The advertisementsthemselves can be sized or customized to fit in the available groundspace, although for simplicity or consistency some standard sizes may beused. Also, the advertisement material are also tailored to becompatible with the type of grounds, e.g., concrete, wood, tile, paintedflooring, and so on, along with the type of adhesive so as to not affectthe quality of the flooring. Also, the advertisement does not obstructthe ground space, e.g., the entryway or pathway.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the process begins with an advertiser or usercreating a login and password or if the user has already established on,the user logs in to a server directly or via a web or direct interfacefrom the user's computing device, such as a mobile phone or computer(401). After login, a user starts creating an advertising campaign(402). For example, in one embodiment, a user is able to browse and/orselect locations for the placement of an advertisement by accessing adatabase associated with the server. The database includes a pluralityof database records that has locations, sizes of locations, sizes ofadvertisements, duration of placement and past, present and future adplacements calendars. Locations can be selected based on regions,markets, state, city or demographics particularly relevant to the useror the user's target advertising audience. In one embodiment, the serverprovides searching of the database records by accepting queries from theuser's or client's computer to provide a candidate list of locationsbased on the search query provided. Additional filters or limits on theprovided list or via the initial search query or browsing can also beprovided to narrow or focus the location lists.

A user can also designate a particular advertisement size which iscorrelated with the database records by the server to identify locationsthat accommodates the advertisement size. Some locations have set sizesor can be customized and thus the user can select a predetermined sizeor provide a customized size upon selection of a particular location.

In one embodiment, a user browse selected locations that conform to theuser's selected advertisement sizes and/or duration. As such, thedatabase provides a set of records to be displayed to the user in whichthe records contain the selected locations with corresponding sizesand/or duration that match the selected sizes and/or duration. In oneembodiment, multiple durations being days, weeks, months, quarters,yearly for example are provided.

After selecting a location along with a size and/or duration, a useruploads an advertising image for the selected location (403). In oneembodiment, the user can build a customized advertisement campaign bychanging images for a particular or recurring duration.

At any time throughout the process, a user upon selecting at least onelocation along with identifying a duration and/or size or confirming adefault duration and/or size, the user can obtain pricing for thatlocation for that duration and/or size along with any additional feesand charges that may apply. In one embodiment, the server accesses abuild quotation module that provides records from the database andmaintains the pricing for the records associated with each locationstored in the database. In one embodiment, the pricing information isbased on the cost of re-selling a right to use a leased portion of theground-surface area of the entryway. Providing the ability to viewpricing information at any time during the process assists the user tobuild and plan their advertising budgets. In one embodiment, pricinginformation further includes database records, each record associatedwith locations and including revenue allocation information thatidentifies allocation of at least a portion of revenue between theproperty owner and a third party entity.

Once a user confirms a selection of at least one location, the user caninitiate the process of securing the locations selected and durations(404). In one embodiment, the server access a build invoice module thatassists a user in creating a company profile, blocking out theirselected dates and build an invoice for the user which then in oneembodiment generates their contract, take a deposit via credit card orelectronic check or via some other type of an agreement and providesdeployment instructions. The process ends by the user logging off. Inone embodiment, subsequently, e.g., upon notification by theadvertisement system of the deployment/installation of theadvertisement, a user can verify the installation of the advertisementby viewing pictures or videos supplied by the advertising system.

Although the invention has been described as certain embodiments, itshould be recognized that the invention includes the claims and theirequivalents supported by this disclosure.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A system for placing surface advertising,comprising: a processor interconnected with a communications network;and a memory, wherein the memory contains instructions that whenexecuted by the processor, direct the processor to: receive advertisingdata from a client computing device via the communications network,wherein the advertising data comprises information about at least oneadvertisement; query a database of electronic records via thecommunications network, wherein each electronic record comprisesinformation regarding at least one advertising location; correlate theadvertising data with the electronic records in the database byexecuting an audit review of the electronic records to generate a set ofavailable advertising locations; transmit the set of availableadvertising locations to the client computing device via thecommunications network; place an advertisement from the at least oneadvertisement at an advertising location in the set of availableadvertising locations transmitting the advertisement to a computingdevice associated with the advertising location via the communicationsnetwork.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the memory further includesinstructions to direct the processor to determine pricing data for theset of available physical advertising locations.
 23. The system of claim22, wherein the memory further includes instructions to direct theprocessor to: generate an invoice for placing the advertisement at theadvertising location; and provide the invoice to the client computingdevice.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the memory further includesinstructions to direct the processor to accept a payment toward thetransmitted invoice from the client computing device via thecommunications network.
 25. The system of claim 21, wherein the memoryfurther includes instructions to direct the processor to receiveconsumer traffic data for at least one advertising location in eachelectronic record in the database.
 26. The system of claim 21, whereinthe memory further includes instructions to direct the processor toupdate the electronic record associated with the at least oneadvertising location to include the consumer traffic data.
 27. Thesystem of claim 21, wherein the memory further includes instructions todirect the processor to: transmit the set of available advertisinglocations to the client computing device via the communications network;and receive a selection comprising the advertising location from theclient computing device via the communications network.
 28. The systemof claim 21, wherein the information regarding at least one advertisinglocation in each electronic record includes at least one of the groupconsisting of: an image of the at least one advertising location, usableadvertising space at the advertising location, duration of advertisingtime available, image data, the type of businesses proximate to theadvertising location, the type of advertisements appropriate for theadvertising location, and consumer traffic at the advertising location.29. The system of claim 21, wherein the advertising data includes atleast one of the group consisting of: a duration of advertisementrequested, an advertising budget, and advertisement information.
 30. Thesystem of claim 29, wherein the advertisement information describes atleast one feature of an advertisement, wherein the at least one featureis selected from the group consisting of: sound associated with theadvertisement, vertical props, a size of the advertisement, a materialused to construct the advertisement, and an attachment method used inconjunction with the advertisement.
 31. The system of claim 21, whereinthe memory further includes instructions to direct the processor totransmit a confirmation of the placement of the advertisement to theclient computing device via the communications network.
 32. The systemof claim 31, wherein the memory further includes instructions to directthe processor to receive the confirmation of the placement of theadvertisement from a computing device associated with the advertisinglocation via the communications network.
 33. The system of claim 21,wherein: the information about at least one advertisement includes animage for the at least one advertisement; each electronic recordincludes an image of the at least one advertising location; and thememory further includes instructions to: direct the processor to overlaythe image of the advertisement with the image of the advertisinglocation such that an overlaid image is produced; and direct theprocessor to transmit the overlaid image to the client computing devicevia the communications network.
 34. The system of claim 21, wherein thememory further includes instructions to direct the processor to updatecost information for the location selection on a selected schedule basedon at least the consumer traffic data over a recorded period.
 35. Thesystem of claim 34, wherein the cost information is based on re-sellinga right to use a portion of the advertising location; and the electronicrecords further comprise records associated with locations and includingrevenue allocation information identifying allocation of at least aportion of revenue between a property owner of the at least one locationand another entity.
 36. The system of claim 21, wherein the correlatedcriteria include at least location type, location size, advertisementsize, duration of placement, timing of placement, market demographics,and price.
 37. The system of claim 21, wherein each advertising locationincludes at least one leasable surface area.
 38. The system of claim 37,wherein the at least one leasable surface area is an electronic device.39. The system of claim 38, wherein the electronic device is selectedfrom a mobile phone and a computer.
 40. The system of claim 21, whereinthe memory further includes instructions to direct the processor toupdate the electronic record associated with the advertising locationafter placement of the advertisement.